Harper proved to be a leader and star for Nationals in postseason setback

One major bright spot from the National League Division series was the play of Bryce Harper. On a national stage, in the most difficult of moments, he delivered.

Offensively, besides an early surge in the series by Anthony Rendon, he was the best hitter for the Nationals. Every one of his hits changed momentum or added to it for D.C.

In Game 1, with the offense spinning its wheels and the team down 3-0 late, Harper crushed a home run off of Hunter Strickland into the third deck at Nationals Park. The Nationals got another home run in that inning by Asdrubal Cabrera, and they were back in the ballgame.

In Game 3, with his team up 3-0 in the ninth in a must-win, Harper slammed another solo homer, this one off of Jean Machi. The 4-0 lead was a key insurance run turned out to be a big moment. Especially when closer Drew Storen allowed two hits to begin the ninth. The Nationals eventually won the game 4-1. He also made a critical defensive catch earlier in the game to rob extra bases for the Giants.

In Game 4, with the team again down, this time 2-1, Harper launched his biggest home run of the series, a McCovey Cove splash down, again off of Strickland, that tied the game at 2-2. He earlier had been responsible for the Nationals other run on an RBI double that scored Ian Desmond in the fifth and got the Nationals on the board.

The Nationals scored only nine runs the entire four-game series, Harper had three homers and four RBIs. He went 5-for-17 (.294) with four runs scored. He set the record for most postseason extra base hits prior to the age of 22 (his birthday is Oct. 16).

He hit better than veterans Denard Span, Jayson Werth, Adam LaRoche and Desmond in the series. He was really the reason the Nats stayed in the series from an offensive standpoint. His defense was also plus-plus and has continued to improve with each game.

If anyone on the national level didn't know if Harper was the real deal, they do know. All the hype from his high school and one year of college seemed to have slightly subsided recently with injuries slowing his play. But he announced his importance to the Nationals and his ability to just play the game of baseball, work counts, and stay in at-bats, better than most of his teammates did in the most critical of series.

The Nationals know a few things about their team after a difficult exit from the postseason, and No. 1 at the top of the list is Harper's ability to deliver in big games.

* Some in the media were critical of Matt Williams' handling of his bullpen in this series, but it came to a fore front in Game 4 writes Tim Kawakami of the San Jose Mercury News.

In the bottom of the seventh, purely from a selfish standpoint, it would have been quite a moment to at least see Stephen Strasburg or even Jordan Zimmermann pitch in a relief situation. But I also would have liked to see Tyler Clippard.

* The Mesa Solar Sox opened their season with Tuesday in the Arizona Fall League with a loss to Glendale, 9-3. Nationals prospects Felipe Rivero (0-1), Matt Grace and Derek Self combined to allow seven runs over seven innings on 11 hits. Second baseman Tony Renda and catcher Pedro Severino went 0-for-5.